The next generation R.L. Stine

Have you ever wondered who will be the next generation to take R.L. Stine’s place? Well, I think the next generation would be Darren O’Shaughnessy (Shan). Theres not much that’s different about how these two authors write their books. The only difference is that R.L. Stine writes about horror mystery books while Darren writes horror adventure books. Darren is becoming as popular as R.L. Stine with his books ” Cirque du Freak”, “The Demonata”, “The saga of  Larten Crepsley” and his newest book “Zom-B.”. His books were on sale in every continent, thirty-nine countries, and in thirty-one languages by the start of 2012. Darren’s books are children’s best sellers in America, Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and other countries.

Even while he was young, he always knew that he wanted to be a writer. He started writing in his teenage years but before that he only wrote stories for homework and for fun.  Darren finished his first novel at the age of seventeen, which he never got published. He was a full-time writer at the age of twenty-three and was writing five to six books a year. He recently he dropped back down to two or three a year because he was traveling around a lot.

Darren’s early books were all adult books. He liked the idea of becoming a children’s author, but he considered himself an adult author first and foremost. His first breakthrough as an adult author was “Ayuamarca” (also known as “Procession of the Dead”) which came out on February 1999. It was the first book of the trilogy called “The City”.

His first children’s book came out in January 2000 called “Cirque du Freak”. “Cirque du Freak” was the first book in his first children’s trilogy called “The Sega of Darren Shan” trilogy. Darren loved writing children books so much that all he focused on was writing more children books for the next several years. For his first series he wrote total of twelve books and after that series he started his next one, called “The Demonata”, which had ten books total. After he was done writing “The Demonata” series, he followed up with “The Thin Executioner”. “The Thin Executioner” is his favorite book that he has written so far. Darren’s next series after “The Thin Executioner” was called “The Sega of Larten Crepsley”. The total books in that series was four books in all. Darren’s newest series is called “Zom-B.” and is twelve books long. His new series will be coming out around late September or early October 2012. Darren has returned to writing adult books while writing children books. He has a new release scheduled in the United Kingdom in 2012, called “Lady of the Shades”.

Darren’s first movie was  called “Cirque du Freak: Vampires Assistant” and it came out in October 2009. “Cirque du Freak: Vampires Assistant” did not do well in the box office so there hasn’t been any current plans on making any more sequels to the first movie.

Darren would be the next generation R.L. Stine if he keeps on coming out with new books that everyone will go crazy over.

Voice recorders

At the start of the Neighborhood Beat Project, the students were given electronic voice recorders to conduct their interviews. We took some of those interviews and edited them together so you can hear what they’ve been working on.

Listen to the interviews here.

Life would be boring with out diversity!

    cedar rapids is a great place to work, live and raise a family. We have a very rich history that goes way back. So when i was asked what is the most interesting thing in cedar rapids it made me think. i think the best thing about cedar rapids is our diversity. When i got to class i talk to people from italy, india, and britian. Even some of my fellow students have traveled all around the world. Though most of my classmates were born in iowa they still add to our very diverse society.

   diversity means a variety; different  assortment.So if everybody acted the same did the same stuff at the same time things would get pretty boring.This relates to political debates too. When people argue their side of a problem  and listen to others the become a more “rounded” person.

  Creativity is close to diverity. Being creative is what makes you diverse. We wouldnt be able to live without diversity, because without diversity and creativity we wouldnt have thomas edison. Without diversity we wouldnt have the polio vaccine or the atomic bomb or the assembly line. because theese people wouldnt have even thought to “think outside the box” if we didnt have curiousity, creativity, or diversity.

 

Beloved doctor retires after forty years

Dr. Gary Gray isn’t someone you will easily forget. His smile always goes ear to ear, and he will never make you feel like you are just another patient  flying through his schedule. Finally after 40 years the caring doctor is taking his leave.  He will leave the office August 5th in hope of spending more time with his 8 grandchildren, or doing some spontaneous travel. Dr. Gray has affected many patients and parents along his way. A single father once said about Dr. Gray that, ” he explained everything, and he made my kids feel safe, no matter what the problem was.”
      Dr. Gray started working at St. Luke’s Pediatric Clinic in 1971. In his years at St. Luke’s he has seen crazy things, wonderful things and also some not so great things. He had such a wonderful smile when he told me that the best thing for him is babies being born. We both laugh when he said the craziest thing he has seen is a peice of foam in the nose for two years. “Kids put things anywhere, then they don’t tell anyone. Or they forget.” he says laughing to me.
     I asked Dr. Gray what he planned to do in his retirement. Instead of simply giving me a boring answer he gave me a list of things he wants to do instead of laying around on the couch. Refresh, renew, recooperate, redirect, restore, recapture, and those are just a few of them! Dr. Gray simply wants to be able to just go when the urge occurs. Or simply go see his daughter in California when things get to cold in Iowa. “There will be no strings attached.” he told me. He has no big plans, he said, “its the little things that will matter.”
     His many patients will do one of a few different things. Many patients will just stay at the St. Luke’s clinic but continue with a different doctor. Some of his older patients will go on to a family doctor. The patients that travel to see him might go to a closer clinic. Where ever his patients go it will be up to the parents to decide who becomes their childs new doctor.
     After telling Dr. Gray that I thought about becoming a doctor, but then claimed I couldn’t because I would get to close. He pointed his pen at me and said in a sad voice, “it tears your heart out sometimes.” You just don’t know what to say to that.
     Dr. Gray will be missed by many. Dr. Gray told me that what he will miss giving parents a sense that things are okay. As I was leaving his busy office, with many kids running about. I turned to his nurse, Darby and she simply said, “he was my pediatrician, what I will miss most is that he is so very, very good with the kids. You can tell he really enjoys this.”

–Mindy Hartman

Childhood Rhymes Biting Back!

“Goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!” That’s what you’ve always heard before you’ve gone to bed as a child. You probably thought they were just a big joke, but guess what? Despite your childhood logic, they are a real thing. A pretty big thing, in fact. We thought we exterminated them from the U.S. way back in the 50’s, but they have been rapidly making a come back. A lot of people believe it’s because of the large increase of international travel. “Some people are still under the impression that bedbugs are a myth, but they are a real issue that needs to be addressed.” says local apartment manager, Misty Carter.

What are bedbugs, you ask? They are small, tick like creatures that feed off of human blood. They hide out during the day, and feast on your blood at night. As a juvenile, they are as small as 1mm in length, and are clear in color. When they are full-grown they tend to be about ¼” long and are brownish-red in color.

“Bedbugs can hide in about any size crack or crevice, even as thin as a credit card.” said Ruby Perin from the Linn County Department of Public Health. They are more commonly found in multi-dwelling establishments, such as apartment complexes and hotels. They usually are within 5-10 feet of the home.  Though infestations don’t really have much to do with how clean your environment is, they commonly cluster in cluttered places with a lot of cracks and crevices to hide in. They can get into your suite cases, bags, etc. and hitch a free ride to it’s new home!

Bedbugs are not known to carry any diseases at this time. Although people’s reactions may be different to the bites, they often leave red welts on the skin that may sting or itch. The bites are commonly found in rows or trails. One single bug can be held accountable for many of the bites.

Once you and a professional have determined you really do have bedbugs, it is recommended that you do not vacate the environment. It is more difficult to determine if they’ve left or not, if you do so. Discus with your specialist what treatment is right for you. Heat treatments are the best way to ride of the infestation, although, it is very expensive. It is about $500, give or take a bit, for one heat treatment. Chemical treatments are much cheaper, but often do not kill the eggs. Therefore, not getting ride of your problem.

Prevention is fairly easy, if you think about it. Just be a smart traveler. Go to nicer hotels and check beds before sleeping. As for your home, putting encasements on your mattresses will help a lot. If you have any more questions about bedbugs, please contact the Linn County Department Of Public Health.

~~Alexis Helena Miller~~

I survived!!

Today, i did my first interview with a woman from the Linn County Department Of Public Health about bedbugs. I was scared to death, but i got through it! i learned a lot of interesting things and i hope to share a lot with you all next week!

 

~Alexis Helena Miller~

A “doctor” who wants to take obese children away from their families

Dr.David Ludwig compares bad parenting to second hand smoke.

This was only one of the reasons that he gave trying to rationalize taking obese children away from their families. He went on to say that if the parents could not take the time to take proper care of their children they shouldn’t have those children at all. In the interview Dr.David Ludwig also mentioned that if the parents did not want to comply, the children would have to be taken away by force.

Petra Noble, a fourth grader at Garfield Elementary School, says “Taking children away from their families will make them depressed and eat more and make them more obese.” She also believes people will be against this law if and when it gets opposed.

Matthew Brown (28), a student at Kirkwood, believes that it wont even become a law and says “It could end up being dangerous because the government has a hard enough time getting children out of homes with drug addicted parents.”

All and all, it may not even end up as a law. “People are going to be against it” says Petra, and Matthew agrees saying ” It’s not gonna happen, parents aren’t going to let go of their children so easily.”

By: Elektra Noble

The smiling doctor retires

Dr. Gray is someone you won’t easily forget. His smile always goes ear to ear, and he will never make you feel like you are just another patient flying through his schedule. Finally after so many years the smiling doctor is taking his leave. He will take his leave this early August to spend more time with his grand children. Dr Gray has affected many patients and parents along his way. A single father once said about Dr Gray that, “he would take time to answer my questions even if we were late to the appointment, always making us feel welcome.”

Here are some questions, I’m planning on asking, before he retires.

Dr Gray:
How long have you been a doctor at St Luke’s Pediatric Clinic?
When is your last day in the office?
What will you miss most about leaving the office?
What is the worst thing you have seen in your years of being a doctor?
What is the best thing you have seen in your years of being a doctor?
What do you plan on doing in your retirement?
Where will your patients go?

Nurse:
What will you remember most about Dr. Gray?
What will you miss most about him?

Secretaries:
What will you remember most about Dr. Gray?
What will you miss most about him?

Patients:
What will you miss most about Dr. Gray?

Parents:
What is your most memorable moment with Dr. Gray?

–Mindy Hartman

What a Hot Summer!

Hello, my name is Lauren and I am currently involved in a program called Neighborhood Beat. This program is a fun way to give kids with and interest in writing and reporting more opportunities to write, learn, and see the way things work in the reporting world. I am really enjoying this program and I can’t wait to write and give other people a good look at what is going on today.

What a hot summer! Iowa is currently going through a giant heat wave, making it almost unbearable to even walk outside. The pools are packed, vacations suddenly planned,  and  electric companies sweeping in the big bucks as families crank the AC’s.  These recent day’s temperatures have been up in the 90’s, and even in some places reaching 100. This cesspool of disgusting hot air has moved in from the west and thankfully is moving away to the east, hopefully  fast.  I feel bad for families planning to take a trip to the east, having to sit through this all again. Luckily, it rained last night, cooling the area down, and for the sake of still getting out this summer, I hope that is the last we’ll see of this heat wave.

One little paragraph about a heat wave isn’t quite enough, so I’ve been coming up with other story ideas to write for Neighborhood Beat. I think my most promising idea so far has been wind power. I am really interested in technology and the future and I want to be able to let other people know of the big advances we could take. Wind power is becoming a big industry and is one of the best renewable, clean, efficient resources we could use. I recently learned that a lot of the wind mills you see out in the country don’t even supply power to Iowa. They run the power to places along the east coast! I want to investigate why this is and how much wind power is really used in Iowa. Hopefully people will see this and figure out ways to get Iowa running on more wind power, to make it a better and more environment friendly place.

Lauren Wibe

I Need Some Help!

Hello, I am in a summer writing program here at the gazette, and in my personal opinion the single most interesting thing that has happened in Cedar Rapids when a dog got picked up by the wind and flew away. That may not interest you at all, but that’s just the kind of weird thing that I like. If at all possible, I would love to write an odd story like that, but as that may not be possible, I’m stuck for story ideas at the moment. I have only one idea at the moment, and that one I came up with at 9:00 this morning, so I’m not quite sure how it’s going to work out. It’s about how somebody or other is trying to pass a law where children who are obese have to be taken away from their families. As I am also running out of things to write about I’m going to stop.

-Elektra Noble